The Open Door

Post-grunge, gothic pop/rock

Andree Farias| January 1, 2006

"Under your spell again / I can't say no to you / Crave my heart and its bleeding in your hand / I can't say no to you" —from "Good Enough"

Christian rock pundits know Evanescence very well. They know the band as the ones who started out "Christian," but soon chose to turn their backs on the CCM scene, not only slamming the door on their way out, but verbally slamming the genre overall.

Promotional efforts leading up to their smash 2003 debut, Fallen, were tailor-made for a massive, twofold launch in mainstream and Christian rock circles. In the latter, the band played industry showcases, got their music shopped to Christian radio, and had a presence at brick-and-mortar retail outlets.

Wind-up Records was banking on them, too. After experiencing unprecedented success with faith rockers Creed (who never claimed to be a Christian band) and a decent outcome with newcomers 12 Stones (who essentially did make that claim), Wind-up hoped Evanescence would be their first true dual-market success story. Young, unassuming, and from the Bible-belt state of Arkansas, founding members and youth-camp buddies Amy Lee and Ben Moody were simply too good to be true.

But then the f-bomb happened. Moody dropped it in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, in which he expressed his distaste for being on the Christian music charts, while co-founder Amy Lee simply nodded in agreement.